A woman will for the first time chair the governing body of a university in South Sudan. Awut Deng Acuil, who is currently the Minister of General Education and Instructions, will chair the council of the University of Bahr El-Ghazal established in 1991, according to a BBC report.
Achuil’s appointment was announced in a presidential decree that was read on the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, the national broadcaster, the report added. Acuil, before becoming the General Education and Instructions minister, was also the first woman to serve as the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
From 2005 to August 2019, she held various positions including Presidential Advisor on Gender and Human Rights, Minister of Labor, Public Service and Human Resource Development, Minister of Humanitarian and Disaster Management and Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, a report said.
Described as a leader of peace efforts, Acuil played key roles in the 1999 Wunlit Peace Conference between the Nuer and Dinka following months of ethnic violence. She also traveled the world from 2000 to 2002 advocating for peaceful solutions to the many problems South Sudan faced. With these efforts, the expert trainer on conflict resolution earned various awards including the 2002 Interaction Humanitarian Award, becoming the second African woman to receive that award after Graca Machel, the wife of Nelson Mandela.
Marrying in her teens to losing her husband in the liberation struggle, Achuil has beaten the odds to become the exceptional woman that she is at the moment. A member of parliament since 2010, she served as Foreign Minister from August 2019 until March 2020 when she gave up her post after a unity government was appointed in February to end the conflict between rival groups in her country.
South Sudan gained its independence eight years ago from neighboring Sudan on July 9, 2011, after a 2005 agreement to end the longest-running civil war that started in 1962. The independence of the Black South Sudanese indigenes indeed ended the civil war with the Arab Sudanese overlords but started another inter-ethnic and inter-factional civil war based on greed and paranoia among the Black Africans.
People fought primarily along ethnic lines between Salva Kiir’s Dinka and Riek Machar’s Nuer tribal groups. These two armed rebel groups have caused the displacement of over four million citizens since independence and caused the death of over a million as they fought each other.
With more than 80 percent currently living below the poverty line, the International Monetary Fund this month granted the country a $52 million emergency disbursement to help it revive its economic fortunes amid the pandemic.
Newer articles:
- Africa: From caravan networks to investment projects - 24/11/2020 21:11
- South Sudan Copyright Design Peer-to-Peer Exchange with the United Republic of Tanzania - 24/11/2020 15:18
- South Sudan Wants To Diversify Oil Exploration Sector, Invites Russian Firms - Ambassador - 24/11/2020 12:22
- China to support mutual collaboration with South Sudan - 24/11/2020 12:22
- One million people affected by Nile River floods. “This is what climate change looks like” - South Sudan - 24/11/2020 07:52
Older news items
- 10-man Uganda held by South Sudan in U-20 AFCON qualifier - 23/11/2020 10:24
- Sudan: Blackout in South Darfur Capital - 23/11/2020 10:20
- Uganda, South Sudan defence chiefs resolve on promoting regional peace, security and stability - 23/11/2020 07:41
- Ebola Eradication Act: Combating Disease in DRC, South Sudan and Burundi - 22/11/2020 14:45
- USA - Funeral service for young SouthSudanese hit-and-run victim highlights the joy he provided others - 21/11/2020 23:37
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan needs ‘civic education’ before elections, says bishop - 16/01/2025 16:42
- South Sudan parties set to resume peace talks in Kenya - 16/01/2025 16:39
- Abandoned but not forgotten – the invisible crisis in South Sudan - 16/01/2025 16:35
- The SAF has committed barbaric atrocities against South Sudanese refugees in Wad Medani - 16/01/2025 16:27
- Syria 2025: The historical Syrian project: From revolution to a modern inclusive civil state - 16/01/2025 16:10
Random articles (all categories):
- Ghana, South Sudan ties strategic — Envoy - 09/09/2013 15:36
- Goats Keep South Sudan Kids Off Street - 30/05/2013 21:42
- الخرطوم تحتضر.. كيف سيتعرف عليها سكانها بعد الحرب؟ - 15/06/2024 16:33
- Al Bashir extends helping hand to South Sudan - 29/09/2017 02:07
- Slain South Sudan MP buried in Uganda - 11/12/2017 01:58
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 61621 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22305 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21491 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19058 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 18785 times